Are We Not Men?
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and fifteen: Kurt and Artie do stand out among the Glee boys... not by choice.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 18th cycle. Now cycle 19!_

**TV Titles Cycle **- So this is Cycle 20! I wanted to do something special, so here we are! Some of you may remember a while back me asking for episode titles from tv shows. I've always found that a lot of shows have great episode titles, so this is how this cycle came to be. Each story will be inspired and titled after an episode from a different show. The influence of the episode may vary from story to story, not seeking to rely completely on it ;) You'll see...  
**Today's Show/Title:** "The IT Crowd" - _Are We Not Men?_

_A/N: Gained two hours, I did... *groan* I swear I'm not gonna make a habit of being so late. Had to wake up early again this morning, thus didn't catch up on any sleep, and I spent another day all zombie like, trying to get things together :( Normality, come back to me!_

_BTW, if you haven't already, please check out Wednesday's **"Bete Noire" **and yesterday's** "And Jesus Brought a Casserole"**? Poor little ficlets, feel like they will have gotten lost in the shuffle, being posted so late ;)_

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**"Are We Not Men?"  
Kurt & Artie **

There were just two of them boys in Glee Club at first, with three girls. There was nothing to be intimidated about; they were all sidelined, in the grand social scheme of things. Then came the others. While the girls had to contend with a trio of cheerleaders, Kurt and Artie were once again a minority, with the four new Glee guys all on the football team.

Now, sure, the cheerleader factor had to be a little… confrontational, with how girls tended to act around one another, but it wasn't like they had anything to prove. The guys though… They did have this separation in a way. Those were big guys, compared to the two of them… The masculinity scale was on the line, and it was tipping.

"There's 'us' and 'them.' At this point we're a lot closer to being a couple of the girls instead of the boys," Kurt had pointed out one day, in line at the cafeteria.

"I'm not too comfortable with that idea," Artie blinked, shaking his head. "Are you?" he looked to Kurt, who turned his head down to look at him, pondering.

"As much as it would seem that I'd prefer that alignment – and, believe me, on some levels I do – I am still a boy, and it shouldn't be forgotten," he shook his head.

"What are we supposed to do, I mean what are the odds both of us would ever end up on the football team?" Artie had a bit of a laugh, and so did Kurt. "Never thought you would."

"And yet I still stand out… Which is fine… I don't really 'scream' football," he fixed his collar.

"I used to play," Artie revealed. "When I was little… I was kind of good, too. But that's done," he shrugged.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Kurt wondered. "If we want to… level the playing field, we can't just take it at random."

"I don't know," Artie admitted. "Our track record kind of speaks for itself… We try, they… Slushie, wedgie… Maybe we shouldn't even bother," he gave a shrug. "At least you're on the team now; you have a better shot than I ever could, I couldn't…"

"You should see the looks I get in the locker room," Kurt shook his head.

"You've got friends in there though," Artie pointed out. "You've got… well, maybe not friends yet, but they're in Glee Club now. That might help?" Kurt shrugged – maybe. "Once we start performing, with costumes, they'll be just like us… and we'll be just like them," he nodded.

"So we just stick with them, then?" Kurt wondered as they moved to the tables. "Like leeches?"

"Well… not exactly… not… sort of… Isn't there a better word for it?" he had to resign that it was more or less that, like Kurt had said.

"It's not like we want to be them, exactly, right? I'm fine being me, and you're fine being you, just… on the outside, different from them. We'll find our own way," he nodded confidently. Artie sat there for a beat.

"So why do I get this urge to go to the gym and lift some weights?" he turned his eyes up at Kurt.

"That's the hunger talking, come on," Kurt just shook his head, abandoning the thought.

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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